BY K F MALE
The American Tower Cooperation Uganda (ATC) a telecom Infrastructure provider has donated 87 street lights to the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) in a move to bridge the street lights gap in Kampala.
For Kampala City to be fully lit Dorothy Kisaka the KCCA Executive Director told journalists at the launch of solar street lights donated by ATC along Nile Avenue that it requires 40,000 street lights but currently there are only 6000 active and 75 percent functional.
Kisaka also noted that although KCCA has taken an active role in lighting up the city, the private sector’s involvement is still needed saying that ATC’s contribution to the deployment of smart poles and streetlights across the city has been instrumental.
Dorothy Ssemanda the Chief Executive Officer of ACT Uganda said that they have partnered with KCCA from 2019 a partnership which allows KCCA to give them space to construct smart poles.
A smart pole is a type of tower that is put in densely populated areas. In Kampala, the smart poles are found in the old taxi park, Namayiba bus terminal, Nakivubi Blue, and other densely populated areas in the city that do not have space to put a normal Greenfield tower.
Apart from the smart poles, Ssemanda said that they also provide KCCA with streetlights where they handed over 87 solar streetlights some found on Nkurumah Road, 33 on Kololo Hill Drive, and 30 streetlights along Nile Avenue that were put because of the NAM summit that took place in Kampala last week.
According to Ssemanda, the partnership has been of great benefit to the parties. She also said that the ATC has also rolled out digital communities which take the shape of the computer center with internet in Busega, Old Kampala, and East Kololo where community members can use these digital centers to transform the lives of the youths.
Minsa Kabanda the Minister of Kampala and Metropolitan Affairs showed concern about increased vandalism of Kampala streetlights which jeopardizes the security and safety provided by the light and also caused financial loss to KCCA and the private sector.
Kabanda urged citizens to take ownership of these lights to ensure a vibrant night economy.
Kabanda proposed to KCCA to set a reward for anyone who reports vandalism cases and when the culprits are apprehended the reward is given.